Possible DIY Sterling dish?

[mobile_bob]

i have seen phrenolic used too for vanes, not sure whether brass would work or not
but i figured finding brass flat stock to cut them out of would be easy enough,

maybe if the rotor speed in ft/min was not too high, and there was some provision for
oil injection with the steam? but then it would require a seperator somewhere down line
to recover the oil seperated from the hot water before it was reheated.

unless it was truely a batch fired system, then you use up the water, condense both
the steam and oil, let it settle and seperate it after it cools off, before refeeding for the
next fire cycle?

what my thinking is, a typical CP 1/2" airdrill has a little air motor that is about 1" rotor diameter
and about 1.5" long (approx 25mm diameter, by 38mm long) and they are rated at 1/2hp
at 90psi and 4 cu/ft per minute. of course that little motor is turning around 15-20krpm

what i am wondering is how a 1/2" wide rotor, perhaps 6" diameter would work with 90psi
steam and maybe 4-8 cu/ft/min?

i just think it would be a kick in the ass to hear the thing spooling up and then hear the field of the alterantor
start to ramp up and begin to load the motor.

however, steam boilers give me pause for sure, so it would have to be a batch fire system using perhaps
a boiler made of schedule 80 and using weld on dome caps welded by a certified tig man.

what the heck, we only live once right?

it ain't like we are talking about building a nuclear reactor in the back yard using salvaged radium scraped off of
old clock dials or something anyways!

bob g

[Curbie]

"Just to be clear.  There is NO WAY that I would go to any system using steam.  Much too potentially dangerous IMO.  Pressures can flash beyond material strengths here in mere seconds.  Flying, hot metal parts can kill."

   
"I've no fear of steam systems, but I have a healthy respect..."

Cognos and rcavictim,

I see both of points here; 1 gallon of 300˚F steam is the roughly equivalent to a stick of dynamite and could also fill a 20'x 20' room instantly killing every living organism in it. On the other hand, with thermal-couples and other remote sensors, there's no real reason to anywhere near a running steam system, so it seems to me care, those risks could be managed.

Regardless, solar thermal electricity generation although is viable on a large commercial-scale, I've had no better luck translating the numbers to work well on a home-scale than Christopher Newton (Newton Manuscript) or The "Phoenix Turbine Builders Club"
http://www.phoenixnavigation.com/ptbc/articles/ptbc36.htm
who took a pretty serious whack at this idea posting monthly progress reports until the progress reports abruptly stopped (dashed on the jagged rocks of reality?).

Still, solar and bio-mass (which is solar), has a sustainable appeal, so I keep tinkering with ideas and all the talk about gasification out here lately got me to read up on the process which lead to an old notion of steam reforming of carbon into hydrogen and CO2. Roughly 9% of steam applied at reaction temperature was converted into 67% 2H2 and 33% CO2, who knows if the processes can be translated to use solar heat, but nice reading and interesting math anyway.

Curbie

[rcavictim]

............it ain't like we are talking about building a nuclear reactor in the back yard using salvaged radium scraped off of
old clock dials or something anyways!

bob g

Well that's good because if'n you were , as moderator here I'd surely have to split this topic and create a new one for "Scraped together backyard radium power reactors".   

You fellas have however drifted a bit off topic being this is a post about CSP Sterling, not CSP steam.  Do we need to start a solar steam discussion?  Please do by all means!

[Apogee]

Awe come on...

If a boyscout can do it, we should be able to.

I would think it would make plenty of usable waste heat among other things...

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

Steve   

[billswan]

Awe come on...

If a boyscout can do it, we should be able to.

I would think it would make plenty of usable waste heat among other things...

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

Steve   

That is an interesting story. Goes to show what can be done with less than lab grade facilities if the people involved are committed to the cause.

Makes a guy think what a committed terrorist could do if.......................

Billswan

[BruceM]

The Gast motors are rotary vane types, and they are not very efficient compared to a piston motor.  But they are compact and relatively cheap to make...


The Gast motors take massive air, Jens was low by a mile.

http://www.gastmfg.com/airgearmotors.html
(100 PSI)
The 6am is rated at 128 CFM, 4Hp
The 4AM is rated at 78 fm, 1.7Hp
The 2AM is rated at 30 cfm 0.93Hp

They would be a bust as a steam engine.

[cgwymp]

Awe come on...

If a boyscout can do it, we should be able to.

I would think it would make plenty of usable waste heat among other things...

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

Steve   

And if the radium doesn't work out.....
http://www.amazon.com/Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XXM

[Dail R H]

   Children will plat!! Even if the toys aredangeerous

[rcavictim]

   Children will plat!! Even if the toys aredangeerous

And if they plat on the freeway they get flat. 

[Eco Diesel]

I am holding RCAVictum fully resposible for me needing to go to the hospital to get a belly laugh induced rupture fixed! 

Troy